mountainmare
January 27th, 2005, 05:45 PM
As long as there are no horrible physical conditions on board to me the crew makes the cruise. We had a full ship with 1824 passengers--only 6 children. Overall I give the majority of the crew a 5-plus rating.
Embarkation took less than 15 min. We had stayed pre-cruise at a lovely little boutiqye hotel in Lauderdale by the Sea and took a limo service to port. We arrived a little before 1:30 in a Lincoln town car (we were too COOL) and there were no lines!! We just walked to checkin and walked to the ship (did I mention NO LINES?) We had wine and soda in our carryons and inspection was completed with smiles, good humor and apologies for inconveniencing us (and wanting to know when the party started!)
We were greeted by our cabin steward Dana. I really like being able to stay in my room at the end of a cruise--and I know that letting passengers on early reduces the backup for embarkation but this really does make it hard for housekeeping to ready the rooms for new passengers. I had the feeling that Dana had just finished our room before we came, even the plastic put your siutcases here thing was not on the bed. With in 15 min our first suitcase arrived (I know- you don't believe me) and we had all luggage within a half hour (now you really don't believe me). We told Dana our usual daily routine and throughout the cruise our room was made up as soon as we left in the AM, ice was in the wine bucket every afternoon, bananas and pears were in the fruit basket and the room was prepared for evening as soon as we left for dinner. Dana liked our party lights so much that in the evening he would only turn on one bed lamp so that we would return to the full effect of glowing flamingos.
We had a table for four, #24, 8pm seating. Our waiters Made and Dalo were some of the best we have ever had. Water glasses were filled before they were half empty, service was correct, friendly and downright fun! Again, not as formal as the Rotterdam, even on formal nights, but definately a cut above mainsteam lines as was the quality of the food. Steward Agus was personable and professional. The combination of fun loving assistant Dalo with a more serious and sophisticated Made was unbeatable. By the way Capt Mercer if you read this Made is a young man with incredible poise and presence, I hope someday soon he greets me wearing a white coat!!
We felt that the service that we had in the Vista diningroom was better than the Pinnacle. The only poor service we had was one morning for "sitdown breakfast" We mentioned it in passing to Made who passed the info on to Agus who profusly apologized as if he were personally responsible. We had the feeling that "our" crew really cared about us.
We had a full ship and I feel that the lido staff did an excellent job. Although it looks like more staff is needed they were there to carry trays and find seats for those passengers who looked like they needed help. During the Canal transit a superhuman effort was made to handle the rush during a lull in lock activity, then crew would be back out on the bow and all decks offering juice and lemonade to keep passengers from suffering from the heat. I was out on the bow at 5AM Panama Canal Day and the crew had already set up chairs and were getting tables ready for the Panama Rolls.
The front desk answered questions and were accommodating with a smile.
I know that this was a repositioning cruise and the ports were not the same old same old, but the shore excursion gruop could have been better informed about the specifics of certain tours and I saw them as the only weak link in an otherwise stella crew. See my ports report for Cartegena issues- but when I questioned the specifics of the Rosario Islands tour(I'm a tree hugger-no dolphin shows!) the reaction was "I never met anyone who doesn't like dolphin shows or aquariums, if you go you can just sit on the bus" alone--in Columbia--I don't think so!! When DH got the shore ex desk confused with the front desk to get port money he was told that it is impossible to get cash on the ship, he would have to look for a bank in port--MAJOR WRONG INFO!!It seems that the shore ex staff is not even part of the crew--instead more like the timeshare sellers that try to nab you in airports.
In five cruises DH has rarely left the comfort of his veranda, somehow the activities staff worked a miracle and he entered most of the Olympic events, came in 2nd and won us a bunch of DAM prizes. I usually find the cruise director people annoying but this group of youg people were earnest and really great.
It is obvious that Captain Mercer deserves the credit for the exceptional performance of this crew, whenever we mentioned the Captain you could see a look of pride on the crewmembers face. Not to mention that he got us through surprise 40 ft seas and near hurrican force winds (I know, I know thats his job) and we still made it to the next port with plenty of time for fun.
Little things I miss: The art, Dutch night, Room on the desk for more than a TV, The lido staff filling coffee cups at your table outside during breakfast
Things that are the same: Overall quality for the price, The fellow passengers, The friendliness and professionalism of the crew
Things that are better: The pizza, The layout of the lido, The glass elevators, Made and Dalo
Embarkation took less than 15 min. We had stayed pre-cruise at a lovely little boutiqye hotel in Lauderdale by the Sea and took a limo service to port. We arrived a little before 1:30 in a Lincoln town car (we were too COOL) and there were no lines!! We just walked to checkin and walked to the ship (did I mention NO LINES?) We had wine and soda in our carryons and inspection was completed with smiles, good humor and apologies for inconveniencing us (and wanting to know when the party started!)
We were greeted by our cabin steward Dana. I really like being able to stay in my room at the end of a cruise--and I know that letting passengers on early reduces the backup for embarkation but this really does make it hard for housekeeping to ready the rooms for new passengers. I had the feeling that Dana had just finished our room before we came, even the plastic put your siutcases here thing was not on the bed. With in 15 min our first suitcase arrived (I know- you don't believe me) and we had all luggage within a half hour (now you really don't believe me). We told Dana our usual daily routine and throughout the cruise our room was made up as soon as we left in the AM, ice was in the wine bucket every afternoon, bananas and pears were in the fruit basket and the room was prepared for evening as soon as we left for dinner. Dana liked our party lights so much that in the evening he would only turn on one bed lamp so that we would return to the full effect of glowing flamingos.
We had a table for four, #24, 8pm seating. Our waiters Made and Dalo were some of the best we have ever had. Water glasses were filled before they were half empty, service was correct, friendly and downright fun! Again, not as formal as the Rotterdam, even on formal nights, but definately a cut above mainsteam lines as was the quality of the food. Steward Agus was personable and professional. The combination of fun loving assistant Dalo with a more serious and sophisticated Made was unbeatable. By the way Capt Mercer if you read this Made is a young man with incredible poise and presence, I hope someday soon he greets me wearing a white coat!!
We felt that the service that we had in the Vista diningroom was better than the Pinnacle. The only poor service we had was one morning for "sitdown breakfast" We mentioned it in passing to Made who passed the info on to Agus who profusly apologized as if he were personally responsible. We had the feeling that "our" crew really cared about us.
We had a full ship and I feel that the lido staff did an excellent job. Although it looks like more staff is needed they were there to carry trays and find seats for those passengers who looked like they needed help. During the Canal transit a superhuman effort was made to handle the rush during a lull in lock activity, then crew would be back out on the bow and all decks offering juice and lemonade to keep passengers from suffering from the heat. I was out on the bow at 5AM Panama Canal Day and the crew had already set up chairs and were getting tables ready for the Panama Rolls.
The front desk answered questions and were accommodating with a smile.
I know that this was a repositioning cruise and the ports were not the same old same old, but the shore excursion gruop could have been better informed about the specifics of certain tours and I saw them as the only weak link in an otherwise stella crew. See my ports report for Cartegena issues- but when I questioned the specifics of the Rosario Islands tour(I'm a tree hugger-no dolphin shows!) the reaction was "I never met anyone who doesn't like dolphin shows or aquariums, if you go you can just sit on the bus" alone--in Columbia--I don't think so!! When DH got the shore ex desk confused with the front desk to get port money he was told that it is impossible to get cash on the ship, he would have to look for a bank in port--MAJOR WRONG INFO!!It seems that the shore ex staff is not even part of the crew--instead more like the timeshare sellers that try to nab you in airports.
In five cruises DH has rarely left the comfort of his veranda, somehow the activities staff worked a miracle and he entered most of the Olympic events, came in 2nd and won us a bunch of DAM prizes. I usually find the cruise director people annoying but this group of youg people were earnest and really great.
It is obvious that Captain Mercer deserves the credit for the exceptional performance of this crew, whenever we mentioned the Captain you could see a look of pride on the crewmembers face. Not to mention that he got us through surprise 40 ft seas and near hurrican force winds (I know, I know thats his job) and we still made it to the next port with plenty of time for fun.
Little things I miss: The art, Dutch night, Room on the desk for more than a TV, The lido staff filling coffee cups at your table outside during breakfast
Things that are the same: Overall quality for the price, The fellow passengers, The friendliness and professionalism of the crew
Things that are better: The pizza, The layout of the lido, The glass elevators, Made and Dalo